Drunken Owls and Other Delights

 Not much going on with the long weekend here...A took Friday off so she could get vaccine number two, with Saturday as our lazy day (in which I drove up to Laurel Village to get our car washed, get some quarters for laundry and buy cupcakes for dessert, but that's about it). We did our grocery shopping today instead of doing the farmer's market, but we DID go for a walk, bought some plants at the local garden shop up the street, and got burgers for lunch. Tomorrow if we're up for it, we may go walking in Golden Gate Park and make our way to the Conservatory of Flowers if it's open.

Other than that? Not much to report...sadly, I did not get the job I tried for the other week. Guess I didn't clear the final hurdles? Not sure why, but it does once again prove that I'm terrible at interviews. I know how to handle them just fine, and I don't crash and burn...I think it's that I don't quite know how to ingratiate myself with whoever I'm trying out with? I don't actively try to turn them off, I just sometimes feel like they don't quite understand why I would want to work with them, or I don't quite pull that part off, because it never feels honest to me. Well, anyway. I'm not going to dwell on this other than that maybe it's a sign that DIY really is the road I need to take careerwise. How the hell I'd make money off that, I don't know, but...I'll think of something.

ANYWAY! It's a lovely weekend and per VP Harris' request I'm going to enjoy it and not feel a bit guilty about it. :D

A few days ago I woke up super-early in the morning from a dream and had that classic OMG this needs to be story!! moment, so of course I made sure that I remembered it after sliding back into slumber for a few more hours. And yes, somehow I did in fact remember it! So before it went away and before I distracted myself with any other internetty things, I logged onto/dusted off the 750 Words site and hopped to it. I'd originally meant to just work out the bare bones of the idea, but before I knew it, I was writing a full-on synopsis and an hour or so later I had a full novel's worth written out!! 

That NEVER happens. So I didn't question it...I just kept working at it until I had it done and finished! [And the wild thing is that after I finished that, I spent the next several hours finally finishing the Diwa & Kaffi revision. I of course then wanted to Do All The Things after that, but reeled it back a bit. Two major milestones completed in one day is successful in my book.] I figured, I'm not exactly sure when I'll work on it, as I had some other things to do, but it's good that I have it on hand so I'll be prepared when I do get to it.

I spent the next day or so revising the Diwa & Kaffi synopsis and cover letter for when I send it out, but after that bizarrely productive day, I was hankering for a repeat. So a few days later I opened up the 750 again and played around with a synopsis for another book -- this time with one that I've already started/stopped/trunked/revived several times over the years and could never quite let go of it. This time out, however, I just focused on creating a tight synopsis with the ideas I did have without the issue of sliding into the meta details. I think it worked out, because in the process I figured out why it hadn't worked in the past, and how I could approach it. So yay me, another future project!

Which leaves me with the current two front-burner projects, both of which I'm still feeling a bit tetchy about. The issue with both is, you guessed it: lack of direction. I know where I'm going, but there's still a high level of flailing on both. SO! This means that what I'd like to do in the next few days is give them that 750 synopsis exercise and see if I can tame them some.

Funny how it all falls into place at once when you least expect it. Heh.

My sciatica seems to have poked me in the back a few times recently with a really annoying and painful HI REMEMBER ME? and I'm not happy about it. Today's wave hit me as I leaned over the bathroom sink while brushing my teeth, mind you, so once again it has decided to make its presence known in the most annoying of ways. This of course means that I'm going to need to get back into my daily stretches again. I've missed a few days over the last couple of weeks due to one thing or another, and having started them some time ago, I know they've been keeping that dang sciatica at bay.

On another 'ow'-related subject, I shall be getting my second Moderna dose this coming Thursday morning. I've heard that it's the second shot that knocks you for six, so since I'm heading out of town for it, I'm hoping that if it does, it won't kick in until after I'm back at home. I wasn't gone long last time, so I should be fine. No knowing whether or not I'll be wobbly by the end of the day until it happens, though!  A got her first shot this past Friday and it didn't bother her much at all other than the sore arm.

Meanwhile, I'm on the last quarter of this recent Diwa & Kaffi revision, yay! The end is in sight, and I think if I stick to it over the next several days, I should have it done and prepared and ready to go in the next week or so! Which means that once I submit it, I can FINALLY get back to the New Projects that have been warming on the backburner for the last few months. I'm really looking forward to getting back to writing those! 

Other than that, we had a lovely Sunday at the Botanical Garden with several pix shot and Instagrammed between both of us. Going to finish the laundry and get a few creative things done now.


Hope everyone has a lovely week!

Let's see...what's new to report...

--Managed to get a vaccine appointment for A for the 30th by way of doing the same thing I did for myself: constantly refreshing multiple websites until something came up! Once again it's RiteAid and findashot.org for the win! Some of the sites were super picky, stating you could only be someone from this particular county or zip code, or that you had to log on to some other website first, or what have you, but FindAShot basically kept it easy and clean: it refreshed itself every five minutes for places that offered it like CVS, Walgreens, RiteAid, Safeway, and so on. As soon as I got a bite, I just went for it.

--Multiple important scenes in Diwa & Kaffi have been improved significantly and I'm quite happy about that. I think I may have maybe six or seven Big Moments to fix, but most of the rest of the scenes read just fine. It's the ones where you can tell I rushed it that needed work. I'm *hoping* to get it done by the end of the month, but I'll be happy if I get it done by mid-May. Where am I going to submit it? Good question. Still working on that.

--I'm getting lazy with my stretches and exercises again. I need to spend more than just five minutes doing a few twists and saying "meh, I'll do my crunches tomorrow". I'm doing okay with them, but I could be doing a lot better.

--Building management stopped by the other day to check the layout of the apartment, as apparently they need to get into a few of our closets to set up some kind of fire safety thing. Which means that on a certain day, I'll need to empty it all out so they can get in. Which means that I'll have to figure out where I'm going to put certain boxes and whatnot, even if it's just for half a day. It'll be a pain in the butt, but at the same time I'm trying to look at the plusses, such as dusting and vacuuming the corners (and maybe getting rid of a few shirts I haven't worn in like five years). Thankfully this shouldn't take more than a day so it won't be too big of an issue.

--For the very first time, the bookshelf containing my music books now wholly contains *books I have actually read*. I've managed to get the TBR pile down to a few dozen, which have been moved to the bookshelf next to my side of the bed. And THAT particular TBR pile is only a single shelf, so I should be able to get through them soon enough!

--Next week we'll be going to a restaurant (with A's parents) for the first time in who knows how long. To be honest, it's not really blowing my mind as it would most other people. I think it's partly because I've been the one heading out each week to do the grocery shopping or other outside errands, so it's not as if I've been squirrelled away and not seen another human being aside from A this past year. I do miss heading to places like some of the local diners and a few of our favorite watering holes, though!

....and that's all I can think of for now. Gotta finish doing the laundry and prep my writing blog entry for Monday. Hope everybody has a fine week ahead!

I spent the entire morning on April 1 skittering between some light revision work and constantly refreshing nine different tabs in a frenzied search for COVID vaccine appointment openings, and I'm glad to say that my persistence and stubbornness paid off as I found an opening this Thursday at a RiteAid across the GGB in Mill Valley! I knew I wouldn't get anything done in the interim, and I wasn't really expecting to find any openings right away (I'm now of age where I'm eligible for it), so I was rather surprised and pleased that it worked out. And the good thing is that they'll automatically schedule me for dose number two once the first one is taken care of. I'd said on Twitter later that day that it kind of felt like when big concert tickets went on sale: it was a matter of constantly checking and refreshing and hoping I didn't get disconnected or booted offline. Heh.

In more mundane news, I think I'm about a third of the way through this recent revision. I'd like to be further on but it is what it is. Some of the passages are just fine, but others need a bit more work. Last night I discovered that a super important scene that shifts the entire story felt kind of...flat, unfortunately. I know exactly why: I rushed it. I got too embroiled in the moment of the action that I didn't pay attention to the pace. I'll need to work on that one in the next day or so, but I think after that it should be smoother sailing. I don't think I had any other scenes that wonky...at least I hope not!


Hope everyone has a lovely week!

Not too much to report here, as I've been taking it easy this weekend. I wanted to Read What I Have So Far for the two big writing projects and did that instead of getting any new words done. I often do this near the start of every project for a few reasons: one, to see if any of it holds up and holds my attention (which yes, both do, yay!), and two, to get a firm grasp on the story and its many moving parts. This second reason is the more important of the two, as it's my way of establishing continuity.

And let me tell you, my novels ALWAYS start off with the shittiest continuity ever. This is mainly due to me trying things out just to see where they go. This includes character traits and personalities, extended family and friends, time of day, whatever. I used to say I was 'flailing' at this point, but I don't think that's a good word for it. More like 'feeling my way', honestly. After maybe four or so chapters, I'll do a Read What I Have So Far and see what works and what needs work. 

That said...Project A is going in an unexpected but fun direction and I'm quite happy about that, but I definitely need to straighten out the continuity. Project B, on the other hand, is going a bit slow but the continuity is just fine. So all in all, I think I'm happy enough with both that I can start moving forward starting tomorrow. Woo!

I feel kind of annoyed that I'm not getting nearly as much work done as I really should. I know for a fact that I'm still spending a bit too much time dawdling and delaying when I should be writing. Before I started on these two projects, I was still extremely unsure as to where I was going with them (and from past experience, writing without at least some destination in mind tends to produce a lot of pointless drivel in my experience). That's definitely not the situation with both of these projects now. I'm getting maybe about 600 words a day done for each, when I know I could get at least a few hundred more if I put my mind to it. I definitely need to accelerate here. I'm not asking for 2k each per day (though I could probably do that every now and again if I prepped myself?), I'm just looking to bring it up to maybe 1k each for now. Pretty sure I can still hit that in the time I have.

I've been thinking more about self-publishing Diwa & Kaffi lately. As much as I would love to see a much wider audience for it, I think it's probably still a bit too unique to be a good First Novel, unless I pour a hell of a lot more Salesperson Power into it, which I really do not have. More to the point, that particular novel is one that I think needs a specific outlet and a specific brand (ugh hate that word) and I think I can deliver it (ugh hate that phrase). Which means I need to commission a cover. I have a few online artists in mind that I think could nail the mood and the image of what I'd like to use. I'd need to reach out to them and ask for rates. 

I'm also thinking of looking into using Barnes & Nobel this time out for self-publishing...I need to do more research and pro/con for it, but I've never had all that much luck with Createspace for the physical copies. We shall see.

Meanwhile, A is taking a few days off this coming week so we'll be doing some local fun stuff: heading to the deYoung to see a few art exhibits and have a walk around (which we haven't done in ages), and head to the SF Zoo as well. It's our own local vacation considering we don't have too much else to do at the moment. Some stores and restaurants are opening up again, but we're not going to be in line for indoor dining just yet, not from past experience. I do kind of miss our vacations, though!

A reminded me that it's been a year since our last trip, which happened to be our visit to MA. I just remember it was COLD AF a few of those days, and all I had was a lightish coat and a scarf, hat and mitts. I do miss our yearly visits to the UK and the occasional one to Hawaii! We're not planning on heading anywhere soon (again -- obvious reasons), but it'll be nice once we can do so again.


Hope everyone has a good week!

We currently have the windows open because it's sunny and in the upper 50s and our apartment could use a bit of airing out, but at the same time I'm feeling just a bit chilly so I have my sweater on. I probably should work a little on cleaning the shower, but I need to switch the laundry loads first. This is par for the course with me: I want to do Project Z, but I'm thinking about how I can integrate Projects W, X and Y at the same time. Writing out a few of my blog entries while I'm waiting for the laundry to finish. Switching the loads. Clean out the shower grout I'm about to replace. Cut out some plastic covering to tape over it so running water doesn't ruin it. And so on.

My Time Blocking Schedule continues apace. A few things missed here and there, but I either have a good reason for it (needing to do outside errands such as pick up the farm box we ordered) or I don't (too distracted by some silly thing). Par for the course and expected. As long as I'm following it for the most part, yeah? And hey, even the exercise regimen is working out! Nothing major just yet, but it does feel good to be doing stretches and the occasional crunches twice a day again. I can definitely feel less joint pain and less chair slouch!

I feel I could probably kick up the word count a notch or two at this point. I'm still averaging about 500-700 per project, but I feel like I could do a lot more in the time I'm giving it. [I say this out of being aware of how often I'm tempted by distractions and how I combat them, and how much I could do if I kept at the work instead.] I did a quick tablet read of both projects a few nights ago and I'm quite happy with how they're working out so far. Project A is evolving as I'd hoped it would, giving me ideas on how I can keep it going. Project B was given a HUGE edit (two chapters were pulled, possibly to be used later on) when it was obvious that a third chapter was the Perfect Opening and set the tone for the entire rest of the novel.


Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Another relaxing weekend of not doing too much other than our daily walk around the neighborhood. We've been averaging about 1.5 - 2 miles most days if we're just doing up Lake Street and back, and maybe more like 3 or 4 if our plans are to walk in the botanical garden in GGP (the camelias and cherry blossoms are out!) or doing some errands down the other end of Clement. 

Speaking of exercise, I'm trying to do them twice a day here in Spare Oom, once midmorning and once midafternoon. Nothing too high-intensity as my joints aren't up for that right now...it's mainly been a lot of the stretching exercises I still remember doing from my days at Yankee Candle plus a few I've grabbed from the internets. The problem with these is not the occasional pain, but the occasional forgetting to do it!!

Which brings me to my next thing: as an experiment, I've given myself a semi-rigid daily schedule that I'm going to try to maintain as closely as I can, starting tomorrow. I built it up around the loose schedule I already have (midmorning journaling, exercise, lunch, writing sessions, etc), this just gives it more stability and less chance for distraction. And yes, I did factor in points in the day for leisure time -- checking emails and social media, working on something fun, and so on. I'm not looking for rigidity, I'm just looking for structure here, because I think I need more of that.

[On a side note, I once tried to do this during my college years as a way to ensure that I'm actually doing homework, studying and not goofing around with whatever instead. Unfortunately this died a horrible and embarrassing death when a few "friends" saw it and mercilessly made fun of me for it. Sadly I gave up on it and never tried it again. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't given into mortification and lack of self-esteem and followed through, but well...what's past is past, I have no peanut gallery to shoot me down this time.]


Not much else to report! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

I'd mentioned on my two WP blogs that I was taking this coming week off, mainly for my birthday on the 22nd and also because of Inauguration Day. Fair enough, yeah? And A has tomorrow off (MLK Day) as well as Friday (personal day), so we'll most likely be doing what we're usually doing these last few months in pandemic season: walking around the neighborhood, doing some errands and shopping, and watching British documentaries. Not complaining, as it's actually quite relaxing and enjoyable.

I may be hitting the Big Five-Oh this coming Friday, but I'm not really putting too much thought into it. It's another number, whatevs. The only celebration is that A ordered me a Boston Cream Pie from the Parker Hotel in Boston -- the originators of said pie-that's-really-a-cake -- which should get here by Thursday. Other than that, I have no big plans. Maybe trade in some of my cds and dvds at Amoeba during the week. Do some writing. Nothing big.

Okay, maybe a few things. Just utilizing the day to kick off some personal plans, is all.

Speaking of writing...I've changed up my writing process once more, which surprises no one, heh. I'm putting aside the 750 Words again for now, if only because it currently feels more like a distraction than a help right now. More to the point, my approach to handling MU4 and Theadia is becoming clearer to me. I suppose one could say it's that they've finally connected with me on a personal level as a writer; I'm beginning to understand the characters better, and I also have a better grasp on the stories they (and I) need to tell. It's kind of funny, really...sometimes I'll connect with a character almost immediately (like I did with most of the gang in In My Blue World), and sometimes it takes ages.

I discovered that with Theadia, the mood of both the story and the characters is Constant But Steady Acceleration. Sort of like the B-Town trilogy in a way. They live in a world where Everything Is Constantly Moving so I need to place the story in that setting. That's not to say that I've given the story strict boundaries, of course. And with MU4, I know one of the running themes for that one is "escape from rigid social conformity" in its various forms: established religions, social connection, career expectation, and so on. Both of them are about outsiders, in a way. I'm very curious to see where these go.


Hope everyone has a lovely week!